


Be Like You

by periferal



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Self-Indulgent, Trans Character, Trans Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 19:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periferal/pseuds/periferal
Summary: There's a little kid in the coffee with a Captain America shield.Steve knows the kid's a boy, and so does the kid. The kid's mom hasn't entirely gotten with the program.Steve reveals something about his past to both the kid and the world.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Some self-indulgent Captain America fic, because since I can't have Captain America selfies my fictional characters will. 
> 
> Warnings for mild transphobia.

“I want to be like you, Captain America,” the little boy says, tugging on Steve’s sleeve. He’s carrying one of those tiny plastic shields. His voice is very small. He’s in line behind Steve at this tiny pretentious coffee shop Bucky likes to make fun of. Presumably he’s here with his mom.

Steve has never entirely gotten used to encounters like this. Tony lives for them, and Clint just treats them like his own kids but Steve? He’s still a little lost, when he sees small children who look up to him. It’s nice, though, and new. He didn’t get to talk to any fans, not really, way back in the day when he was selling war bonds. 

A woman, who Steve assumes is the little boy’s mother, says, “I’m sorry, she gets like this sometimes, I’m sure you’re not actually Captain America.” Her face is pinched in a way that reminds him of the nuns who taught him when he was very little. The bad ones, who would hit him and the other girls without warning. The way she emphasizes the pronoun makes Steve’s stomach twist unpleasantly. 

Steve watches the little boy’s face crumple and he knows that he guessed right, even though the mom obviously apparently hasn’t.  
“I am Captain America,” he says, flashing her his best TV-interview smile. He crouches down so that he can meet the little boy’s eyes. “I don’t know if you can be exactly like me,” he says in a secretive whisper, “but I was a lot like you when I was little.”

The little boy’s eyes widen. “Really?” he asks in the same kind of whisper.

“What’s your name, son?” Steve asks. The mother frowns but Steve ignores her.

“A-Alexia, but I don’t like it very much,” he says. He hides his face behind his shield. 

“I found a good name,” Steve says, “I’m sure you’ll find one too.”

“Like Captain America?” the little boy says. 

Steve laughs. “Sure,” he says, “like Captain America.”

“Can—Can I take a photo with you?” the boy asks. 

“Sure,” he says. 

He hands his phone up to the mother, who wordlessly takes a photo of the two of them. 

“Thank you,” he says. He notices how she takes out her own phone to take a photo, even though her son is no longer exactly posing. So she might not be entirely irredeemable. That or she wants a photo of Captain America.

He stands up and looks at the boy’s mother. “Ma’am,” he says, playing up what he knows is a folksy image, even though he’s from the city they’re currently standing in, “I suggest you listen to your son.” He flashes her another winning smile. 

Their encounter has apparently drawn a small crowd, including one of the cashiers. 

“I’m going to let you folks make your own assumptions,” Steve says. There are probably other photos, but he suddenly very tired. 

He waves as he leaves the shop, fleeing any imminent questions. “Tony,” he says, because of course Tony’s been listening, “can you find out who they are?”

“Sure,” Tony says over the earpiece. “Did you mean what I think you meant?”

“Yes,” Steve says. “Yes I did.” 

It still amazes him that that got left out of the history books. It's a good scandal for idiots, at least.


End file.
